Yarn treating apparatus



Dec. 8, 1970 J- P. Lu'BAcH YARNTREATING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 30, 1968 INVENTOR ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,545,057 YARN TREATING APPARATUS John Paul Lubach, Wilmington, Del., assignor, by mesne assignments, to E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, a corporation of Delaware Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 741,045, June 28, 1968. This application Sept. 30, 1968, Ser. No. 763,561

Int. Cl. D02q 1/16 US. Cl. 281.4 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention provides a device for use in the production of a bulky yarn in which the air that is used in making the plurality of convoluted filaments is channeled in a direct fashion to the venturi. The control device comprises a yarn inlet element that coacts with the air inlet to concentrate the air in a substantially direct passage to the outlet through which the air and the yarn to be bulked passes. Very high rates of bulking are attained.

This is a continuation-in-part of my patent application filed on June 28, 1968 bearing Ser. No. 741,045, now abandoned.

As is well known, continuous filaments can be bulked without using staple spinning systems. This is done in one manner by exposing the yarn to be bulked to a turbulent, fast-moving fluid, such as air. A plurality of crunodal filament loops result in a random fashion, and these loops or entangled yarn increase the bulk of the yarn. Such yarns yield fabrics having improved cover, bulk and feel, occluded air giving the fabric a warmth-giving bulk and a lightness and covering ability not attained with continuous, unbulked filament. Certain patents, such as US. 2,994,938; 2,852,906; and 2,783,609 described methods and apparatus for bulking filaments by the said turbulent flow technique.

A typical device, for example, comprises a housing for a cylindrical channel in which the yarn or filaments and a fluid stream, such as air, are simultaneously passed. Generally, the yarn enters the housing through an orifice at one end, and the pressurized air enters the housing at right angles to it through an inlet located near the center of the housing. At the exit end of the housing is a venturi through which the yarn or filaments and the air pass. As these exit from the device, the filaments are blown randomly in the form of loops. The devices of the prior art have all had at least one common deficiency: The rate at which bulking can be effected is too low even though the rate' attained is commercially effective.

Thus, it is an objective of this invention to provide a yarn texturing device that allows one to bulk a bundle of filaments at substantially higher speeds than hithertofore possible. Another goal is the provision of an apparatus in which more effective use of the pressurized fluid is attained. A still further aim is the provision of elements in a yarn bulking apparatus which direct the turbulent fluid more directly into the venturi than hitherto possible. These and other purposes will appear hereinafter.

The objectives of this invention are accomplished by the provision of a jet, as the yarn texturing device is commonly called,, in which the flow of the pressurized fluid such as air within the housing of the jet is severely restricted and is directed as a compact or compacted mass Patented Dec. 8, 1970 directly into the venturi. The exit end of the yarn inlet element may be directly or concentrically aligned with the orifice in the venturi. In prior art devices and in trade' practice the alignment of the yarn outlet with the venturi is generally off-set or eccentric. The amount of oif-setting is generally in the order of 0.005 inch. The need for such eccentricity is abolished by means of the device of this invention.

The compacting of the fluid mass is effected by shaping the yarn inlet element so that it effectively acts as a plug for all of the inside volume of the housing except for certain passage-ways. These passage-ways are strategically designed to direct the fluid mass quickly and directly to the venturi. The device will be further understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, which are given for illustrative purposes and are not limitative and in which.

FIG. 1 is an elevation of a yarn texturing apparatus containing the novel features of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional, longitudinal view of the texturing jet illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the said device taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional, longitudinal view of another texturing jet Within this invention illustrating an alternative embodiment in the said compacting of the fluid mass;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 55 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a view of a device similar to that shown in FIG. 5 but having two outlets for the compacted fluid mass.

In FIG. 1 the texturing jet 10 may be in its outer design any of the many conventional and similar types such as those described in the above mentioned patents or elsewhere. Such jets include a symmetrical housing 11 which has at one end an element 12 which aifords entry of the filaments to be bulked into the jet, this entry being designated as 13. At the opposite end is element 14 which affords an outlet for the said filaments and the fluid that is used in the texturing. This fluid is inserted into the device through the inlet designated in FIG. 1 as element 15. he knurled element 16 is merely a threaded lock nut to hold element 12 in a given fixed position.

Referring to FIG. 2, it will be seen that element 12 is a cap which is threadably mounted by means of coacting threads at 17 on cylindrical housing 11 and that cap 12 contains an orifice 18 which is in conduit relationship with cylindrical channel 19 which exits at outlet 20. This outlet is placed in close relationship with venturi 21, which has a channel through it that terminates in exit 22. As can be seen in FIG. 2, element 21 is held in position on housing 11 by threaded screws 23 that coact with threaded bores 24 in the housing 11 and with recess 23a in end flange 23b. Also, it will be noted in FIG. 2 that inlet 15 contains a conduit 25 for the fluid mass, such as air that is inserted into the annular plenum chamber contained within the housing. It will be appreciated that this air com ing from conduit 25 and the yarn issuing from orifice 20 will be forced through the venturi element 21 at increased velocity and onward to the discharge outlet 22. It is in this discharge that the desired convolutions are produced.

The novel features of this invention are shown in one embodiment in FIG. 2. First, attention is called to the fact that in prior art devices the needle used for the yarn entrance either has a cylindrical body that normally is of a diameter not greater than the diameter of the opening in cap 12 in which the needle is positioned or it has such a narrow body that follows a thicker holding section that terminates at about one-half the distance from the inlet 18 to the tube 25. In other words, the maximum, effective diameter of the needle, which is conventionally referred to in FIG. 2 as element 26, is generally the dimension given as A to B in FIG. 2. Thus, it will be appreciated that in prior art devices air, or a similar fluid, entering through inlet 25, will fill all of the empty spaces in the plenum chamber and will swirl about, more or less at random, before exiting through the discharge orifice 22. Such a fine, elongated narrow-bodied needle is shown in 115. 2,994,938, and it is with such needles that the eccentricity referred to above is most important and essential.

However, it will be noted from FIG. 2 that the needle 26 of this invention is a full-bodied member, the outside diameter of which closely approximates the inside diameter of which closely approximates the inside diameter of the boring in housing 11. This close approximation extends over substantially all of the length of the needle except for the cut 27 at its end near outlet 20 of the needle. This cut 27 is shown as a flat cut, and it is to be appreciated that it can be of any desired shape such as a V-cut, concave or a convex cut. The cut is made in order to allow passageway of the fluid coming from element 25 to the funnel section 28 of venturi 21 and from there to exit 22, it being understood that if the needle 26 were full-bodied beyond inlet 25, no pressurized fluid could enter the plenum chamber. Coacting with the cut 27 is channel 29 which is circumferentially bored on the side walls of housing 11 and which is contiguous with inlet 25 of element 15.

This internal boring 29 and its relationship to the tube 25 of element 15 is shown in FIG. 3. From the drawings it will be noted that incoming air can rush into the plenum chamber and immediately strike the flat surface 30 of the needle 26 afforded by the cut 27 and then pass to the right toward the venturi 21 as shown by the arrows in FIG. 2, this being the case if the cut 27 is placed directly above inlet 25. In order to obviate the need for directly placing the cut in any precise position, the circular channel 29 is provided. Thus, the operator can insert the needle and thread the cap 12 to any position at random, for the incoming pressurized fluid will race around the internal channel 29 until it comes to the flat surface 30 afforded by the cut 27. When the pressurized mass hits that surface, it will then be directed toward venturi 21 and will be forced to exit at orifice 22. Here again, the channel 29 can be of any desired shape and size.

Through the effective plugging of the majority of the nside volume in the plenum chamber and through the efiective directing of the mass of pressurized fluid as a mass to the venturi, it has been found that texturing of yarns can be accomplished at much higher speeds than hithertofore were possible. This is shown in the following examples.

EXAMPLE I Using a device within this invention, a nylon core was joined with two ends of an acetate yarn which were free to be bulked, the nylon strands being fed at a steady speed but not so taut as to prevent the opening up of the filaments in the core to receive loops from the acetate ends. The speed of travel in the bulking was 126 yards per minute, the air pressure used being 75-80 p.s.i. The nylon core denier was 200 while that of the acetate ends was, as a total, 300 denier. The resultant bulked yarn of 500 denier had excellent hand and compared most favorably with a similarly treated core and ends combination which could be bulked using a typical prior art device only at speeds of 50 yards per minute as the highest production level.

The p oduct of this. exa pl con a ned m ny crunodal 4 loops of the acetate ends both within and about the core.

In a related experiment, high quality bulking was obtained using air at only 70 p.s.i.; the production speed being 192 yards per minute.

EXAMPLE II Two nylon ends run in parallel were bulked using air at 7-0 p.s.i. and a device within this invention to produce high quality bulked yarns at speeds of 126 yards per minute, the bulked yarn being 100 denier yarn. In an extended production run 24 jets were run simultaneously with wind-up speeds of 126 yards per minute using only 50 p.s.i.

Further, two ends of 70 denier nylon were textured in parallel producing high quality product at a product windup speed of 300 yards per minute, p.s.i. being the air pressure.

Here again the top speeds for handling such yarns in prior art devices is about 50 to 60 yards per minute.

Any natural or synthetic filamentary material can be crimped or bulked by the process and apparatus of this invention. These include the cellulose esters, such as cellulose acetate; the polyesters, such as poly(ethylene terephthalate), and poly(hexahydro-p-xylylene terephthalate); the polyamides such as poly(epsilon caproamide) and those based on hexamethylene diamine or adipic acid such as poly(hexamethylene adipamide); the polyvinyls, fiber glass, polyacrylics; polyethylene, polypropylene, polyacrylonitrile and various copolymers of such monomers. While the examples show the use of continuous filaments, it is possible to use staple yarns, too. Mono-filament or multi-filament yarns of whatever filamentary cross-section desired may be processed to give textile deniers or in dustrial or carpet yarn sizes, as desired.

In a number of experiments like those given above different yarn ends are easily bulked at the high speeds attained in this invention using devices in which the channel 29 was A; inch wide and inch deep. Smaller depths can be used, a inch deep channel and a inch channel being effective. Similarly, deeper channels are useful, as, for example, a depth of A1 inch. With small denier filaments a channel of small depth is preferred. While the channel 29 has straight side walls, angular or curved walls are useful. That is, channels of a V-shape or having convex or concave side walls are within the principles of this invention. Similarly, the width of channel 29 may be varied. While channels having a width of A inch have been referred to above, channels having smaller widths such as inch or A inch are useful as are channels having greater widths such as inch or inch. It will also be appreciated that the diameter of the hole 19' and orifice 20 in needle 26 will have an eifect on the bulking, but that these dimensions will be chosen by the operator, as will the other dimensions, depending upon the kind of yarn being processed, the number of ends present, the denier, and similar conditions.

The operator, as one skilled in the art, will, of course, adjust these dimensions by assembling the proper elements to produce a jet giving the desired results and irrespective of the combination of sizes he will attain bulking at higher speeds upon use of a jet of this invention in which the plenum chamber is minimized and the incoming pressurized air is led as directly as possible to the venturi. This invention affords, in efifect, a tubular passageway for the air substantially directly to the venturi using whatever fluid or vapor, such as air or steam, as desired. While the air inlet 15 is shown with its inlet tube 25 normal to the housing, it will be appreciated that inlet 25 may be angularly disposed to housing 11 and depending upon the angle and the extent to which inlet 25 enters the housing the cut 27 and the channel 29 will be altered in position and size and even eliminated while using the fullbodied needle of this invention. While these embodiments are useful, the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is an embodiment that is readily adapted to the many existing jets in commercial operation.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 4 is like that shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 except that the cut 27 does not extend to the venturithat is, the cut 27 of the embodiment in FIG. 4 is no in direct passageway relationship with the venturi section 28 because of the presence of rim 31. This, however, does have a hole 32 in it so that the passage of the air follows much the same path shown by the arrows in FIG. 2 but in this case further compacting is effected, as shown by the arrows in FIG. 4, by forcing the air to flow through hole 32. The relationship of the exit of the yarn through the orifice 19 and the exit of the air through orifice 32 is also shown in FIG. 5.

It is to be appreciated that a second rim 33 can be provided and equipped with an orifice 34 as shown in FIG. 6. Generally, however, this is not needed, for the compacting effected by the use of one perforated rim is highly effective giving results comparable to those obtained in the examples given above. Also, it is within the principles of this invention to replace such a passageway as hole 32 with a pluraltiy of smaller holes. Here again, such embodiments, while useful, are generally not required because of the high effectiveness afforded by the basic channeling of the devices of this invention.

From the above it can be seen that the objects of this invention are accomplished by the provision of a needle that has a portion having an outside diameter that closely aproximates the inside diameter of the housing, this portion extending almost to the venturi element. The needle may also have a part of it, in its end section near the venturi, cut away and there may be an internal, circumferentially running channel in the housing that is in passageway relationship with the fluid inlet and the said cutaway part of the needle. Thus, it will be appreciated that this invention provides for blocking the flow of the pressurized fluid within the chamber by effectively reducing the volume of the plenum chamber while at the same time providing for a direct passage of the pressurized fluid to the venturi element, thereby affording higher wind-up speeds of bulked yarn and using less fluid.

While the invention has been disclosed herein in connection with certain embodiments and certain structural and procedural details, it is clear that changes, modifications or equivalents can be used by those skilled in the art; accordingly, such changes within the principles of the invention are intended to be included.

I claim:

1. In a yarn-texturing device of the type having a housing, a cylindrical plenum chamber within the housing, means for introducing pressurized gas through a gas inlet located in the side of the chamber, an inlet orifice for yarn at one end of the housing, a venturi orifice exit from the chamber for yarn and gas located at the other end of the housing, and a yarn-guiding element with a cylindrical channel therethrough for guiding yarn from the yarn inlet past the gas inlet to the venturi orifice; the improve ment for attaining higher bulking speeds by controlling flow of pressurized gas through the chamber to the venturi orifice, wherein the improvement comprises a cylindrical portion on said yarn-guiding element which has a diameter closely approximating the diameter of said plenum chamber and extends beyond said gas inlet to block flow of gas in said plenum chamber between the gas inlet and said venturi orifice, and a severely restricted passage in said cylindrical portion for directing compacted gas from the gas inlet directly into the venturi orifice in contact with the yarn.

2. A yarn-texturing device as defined in claim 1 wherein said restricted gas passage comprises a fiat surface on said cylindrical portion which extends along the outside of the cylindrical portion to the end next to said venturi orifice and coacts with the interior of said housing to direct gas into the venturi orifice.

3. A yarn-texturing device as defined in claim 1 wherein said restricted gas passage is a hole through said cylindrical portion.

4. A yarn-texturing device as defined in claim 1 wherein said plenum chamber includes a circumferential channel for flow of gas from said gas inlet into said restricted passage to provide for operation with the yarnguiding element in different rotational positions in the chamber.

5. A yarn-texturing device as defined in claim 1 wherein said cylindrical portion on the yarn-guiding element extends back to the yarn inlet end.

6. A yarn-texturing device as defined in claim 1 wherein the exit end of said yarn-guiding element extends partially into said venturi exit and is of larger outside diameter than the most restricted portion of the venturi orifice.

7. A yarn-texturing device as defined in claim 6 wherein said exit end of the yarn-guiding element is concentrically aligned with the orifice of the venturi.

8. A yarn-texturing device as defined in claim 6 wherein said exit end of the yarn-guiding element is offset within the venturi.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,982,000 5/1961 Gonsalves 281.4 2,997,771 8/1961 Martyn 281.4 3,097,412 7/1963 Becher 2'8-1.4 3,279,024 10/1966 Sakai et al 28l.4 3,295,162 1/1967 Forceville 188 3,346,682 10/1967 Thomson 26493 LOUIS K. RIMRODT, Primary Examiner 

